Straight Outta Hip Hop™
The Round Table of Hip Hop
STRAIGHT OUTTA HIP HOP

Kwanzaa Edition: Kuumba (Creativity)

For some in the African-American and Pan-African  community, the next seven days following Christmas is the time to celebrate Kwanzaa, which means first harvest or first fruits. During Kwanzaa, each day represents a principal that is to be practiced and appreciated. Over these next seven days, I will post a blog for the principal that is being observed and how it relates to hip hop. Whether it be how hip hop has represented the principal, how it can do better at representing it, or both, this is my way of acknowledging Kwanzaa and how some of hip hop's African-American roots can be found or applied to hip hop in this day and age. For more information on Kwanzaa, you can visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.  Hope you all enjoy!

The definition of Kwanzaa’s sixth principle, Kumba, is creativity. When done right, hip hop is one of the most unique and creative art forms. However, it has also fallen victim to commercialism and following trends. Even still, creativity is still one of the main things that hip hop prides itself on.<< MORE >>

Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/31/2012 2:35 PM | Add Comment

Kwanzaa Edition: Nia (Purpose)


For some in the African-American and Pan-African  community, the next seven days following Christmas is the time to celebrate Kwanzaa, which means first harvest or first fruits. During Kwanzaa, each day represents a principal that is to be practiced and appreciated. Over these next seven days, I will post a blog for the principal that is being observed and how it relates to hip hop. Whether it be how hip hop has represented the principal, how it can do better at representing it, or both, this is my way of acknowledging Kwanzaa and how some of hip hop's African-American roots can be found or applied to hip hop in this day and age. For more information on Kwanzaa, you can visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.  Hope you all enjoy!

On this fifth day of Kwanzaa, we celebrate Nia, or purpose.  While many in hip hop have embraced that they were called to make music for one reason or another, I would argue that many fans feel as if that number has declined over the years. It’s tough to juggle when you don’t always reap the benefits you might hope for following your passion or purpose, but in the case of hip hop, when you have a microphone and a large audience, not following your purpose can prove to be detrimental to others.<< MORE >>

Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/30/2012 11:14 AM | Add Comment

Respect Due: 2012 Rewind

It's hard to believe, but I have been doing "Respect Due" posts every month now for almost 3 years (in March 2013). If you're not familiar with the blog, "Respect Due" is a monthly blog post that pays respect to hip hop legends and icons that are still living! This is important because we constantly wait until somebody is no longer here to appreciate them. At Straight Outta Hip Hop, we want to acknowledge the people that paved the way while they can see that we respect their contribution to the culture that we love.

So, instead of picking one particular subject for this month, we're going to do a yearly rewind of all of the legendary figures we recognized over this past year. We'll be back with another icon to acknowledge in the new year, but until then, send any suggestions for people you would like to see recognized to straightouttahiphop@gmail.com. To all these legends, we say...Respect Due:


January: Prince Paul


February: Schoolly D
<< MORE >>
Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/29/2012 10:33 AM | Add Comment

Kwanzaa Edition: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)


For some in the African-American and Pan-African  community, the next seven days following Christmas is the time to celebrate Kwanzaa, which means first harvest or first fruits. During Kwanzaa, each day represents a principal that is to be practiced and appreciated. Over these next seven days, I will post a blog for the principal that is being observed and how it relates to hip hop. Whether it be how hip hop has represented the principal, how it can do better at representing it, or both, this is my way of acknowledging Kwanzaa and how some of hip hop's African-American roots can be found or applied to hip hop in this day and age. For more information on Kwanzaa, you can visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.  Hope you all enjoy!

Ujamaa, the fourth principle of Kwanzaa, meaning Cooperative Economics, is something that hip hop is very familiar with. It is defined on officalkwanzaawebsite.org as a way “to build and maintain our own stores, shops, and other businesses, and to profit from them together.” What musical art form has taken to entrepreneurship more than hip hop?<< MORE >>

Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/29/2012 10:15 AM | Add Comment

Kwanzaa Edition: Ujima (Collective Work & Responsibility)


For some in the African-American and Pan-African  community, the next seven days following Christmas is the time to celebrate Kwanzaa, which means first harvest or first fruits. During Kwanzaa, each day represents a principal that is to be practiced and appreciated. Over these next seven days, I will post a blog for the principal that is being observed and how it relates to hip hop. Whether it be how hip hop has represented the principal, how it can do better at representing it, or both, this is my way of acknowledging Kwanzaa and how some of hip hop's African-American roots can be found or applied to hip hop in this day and age. For more information on Kwanzaa, you can visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.  Hope you all enjoy!

While you can argue that hip hop embodies the first two principles of Kwanzaa, the third, Ujima, which means Collective Work and Responsibility, may be one that it needs to improve in. While hip hop has done a much better job of collaborating, Ujima is not only about getting along and reaping the benefits when things are good, but also helping others in times of need and holding others accountable.<< MORE >>

Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/28/2012 11:04 AM | Add Comment

Kwanzaa Edition: Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)


For some in the African-American and Pan-African  community, the next seven days following Christmas is the time to celebrate Kwanzaa, which means first harvest or first fruits. During Kwanzaa, each day represents a principal that is to be practiced and appreciated. Over these next seven days, I will post a blog for the principal that is being observed and how it relates to hip hop. Whether it be how hip hop has represented the principal, how it can do better at representing it, or both, this is my way of acknowledging Kwanzaa and how some of hip hop's African-American roots can be found or applied to hip hop in this day and age. For more information on Kwanzaa, you can visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.  Hope you all enjoy!


If there’s one thing that rappers have a great deal of, it’s their drive to succeed. Whether it be the desperation to change some of the unfortunate situations many of them come from or the sheer competition that hip hop was born out of, the “will to win”, so to speak, is a given in the rap world. That is why Kwanzaa’s second principle, Kujichagulia (or self-determination) applies to hip hop so well.<< MORE >>

Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/27/2012 1:41 PM | Add Comment

Kwanzaa Edition: Umoja (Unity)

For some in the African-American and Pan-African  community, the next seven days following Christmas is the time to celebrate Kwanzaa, which means first harvest or first fruits. During Kwanzaa, each day represents a principal that is to be practiced and appreciated. Over these next seven days, I will post a blog for the principal that is being observed and how it relates to hip hop. Whether it be how hip hop has represented the principal, how it can do better at representing it, or both, this is my way of acknowledging Kwanzaa and how some of hip hop's African-American roots can be found or applied to hip hop in this day and age. For more information on Kwanzaa, you can visit http://www.officialkwanzaawebsite.org.  Hope you all enjoy!

The first principle of Kwanzaa is Umoja, which means unity. Back in the days of Boogie Down Productions, Juice Crew, Native Tongues, and more, there was a great sense of community and connection. Yet, this got lost at some point during the 90s and into the 2000s, in which hip hop took on an “all for one, one for all” mentality.<< MORE >>
Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/26/2012 1:32 PM | Add Comment

Battle of the Sexes



No matter who you ask, when issues regarding hip hop are mentioned, misogyny is always one of them - and it’s usually at the top of the list. It's certainly a problem in not only hip hop, but still in society in general (some would argue it is only reflected in hip hop because it's such a prominent issue in everyday life). You can probably come up with many reasons as to why this is the case, historical or otherwise. As "wrong" artists in hip hop may be for having or speaking such thought/views, they do at least give an explanation as to why they feel that way. My hope is that once we start discussing the reason(s), we can then work on ways of fixing it.<< MORE >>
Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 12/11/2012 3:45 PM | Add Comment

Respect Due: Salt-n-Pepa



While they may not always receive the credit they deserve, a strong female voice has almost always been present in hip hop. Some argue that this started with the group Salt-n-Pepa. Being the first crew made up of all women, it's hard to argue. Coming out at a time when hip hop was questioned as a viable genre of music and women's presence in hip hop was dwindling, Salt-n-Pepa, the combination of Cheryl James (Salt), Sandra Denton (Pepa), and Deidra Roper (DJ Spinderella) played a role in alleviating those fears.<< MORE >>
Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 11/30/2012 9:58 AM | Add Comment

Album Review: The Greatest Story Never Told Ch. 2: Bread and Circuses



Saigon returns with the follow-up to The Greatest Story Never Told, this time adding the subtitle, Bread and Circuses. This represents how "the powers that be" are able to take our attention away from the real issues as long as they feed us (bread) and distract us with circuses (music, movies, news, etc.) Let's see how he brought it all together:<< MORE >>
Posted by H.E.R. Lover at 11/16/2012 12:00 AM | Add Comment
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